


Rise!

by Apelpsia



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Self-Doubt, Tsunderes, angel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:26:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22480996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apelpsia/pseuds/Apelpsia
Summary: Everybody falls down sometimes, but what's important is what you do afterward.
Relationships: Richard/Stryker
Kudos: 2





	Rise!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yana/gifts).



> It's a rather personal story translated into a story, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

There stood in front of him, a large mountain, its summit stretching far above the clouds and sky. He peered up, this would be a long journey to the top. No time like the present, he supposed and he grasped on the rocks and began his journey. At the beginning of the journey, he found it difficult to climb and ascend, his fingers not used to the rough textures of the rock. He slipped down repeatedly, his hands had become raw and bloody. Nevertheless, he continued to climb persistently and he made a breakthrough, he jumped and his fingers reached a hook on the cliff rappelling himself over it. 

He continued to climb, making steady progress, now having the knowledge on how to grip the rocks. A few times, he had slipped on them and fell back down quite a ways down. But he merely growled in anger and continued to ascend, taking careful steps to avoid the dangerous areas. Better to be safe than sorry, he thought. He continued in this fashion for the rest of the day.

When he finally sat down somewhere to rest, he looked up into the starry night and pondered. There are so many stars out there, but who do I have to call my own? None, I’ve always been on my own. Maybe this will change it. The summit was a peak no man had ever reached. The unclimbable, the unbeatable. It was spoken in hushed tongues that whoever managed to ascend to the peak was the god in human form. Of course, he would gain the adoration of many, but what he really wondered was, would he still be alone afterward?

The night passed and he dismantled the camp and put it upon his shoulders again and once again, started to scale the mountain. Strangely enough, this section of the mountain was quite easily ascended compared to everything else that had come beforehand. He felt anxious and felt a premonition come to him: the calm before the storm. His fears were confirmed quickly when he saw a passage through an unclimbable cliff. It was a door, that was held open through a lever, and as long as the lever was held open the passage would remain accessible. If not, then the passage would slowly close, crushing anyone inside. A sign laid on the door front, stating, “Hic jacet in artus pestis aut solus ex imis excire sepulcris atque audaces.” He could not speak the ancient tongue, and so ignored the words.

He experimented with the lever, briefly toying with the thought of dashing through the hall as quickly as possible, but found that there was no possible way. He walked past to the cliffsides surrounding the large ornate door and tried to briefly climb them, but he found them to be too steep and smooth. He howled in anger, all this effort, wasted, and the only thing blocking him was a simple door.

Not all was lost, however, and it was soon to see why. Two people soon ascended the cliff behind him and started to open the door. He rushed through the opening, ignoring them, and the hall lit up with dim lights as he did so. He looked behind him as he reached the end and heard emitting screams. Dammit, those fools had come through both at the same time, and now the hall was closing! He spotted a lever opposite him and slammed it down and once again the hall’s lights lit up and started to open up again. He saw them come through and let out a sigh of relief. The two people were his age, and he secretly doubted that they should have been on this journey as well. One of them went up to him without prompt and spoke. “Thanks for helping us out there, my name is Richard and she’s Odessa.” They had a strange mask obscuring their face and voice.

He shook his head in exasperation despite the near life-and-death situation that had just occurred. “Richard? I would’ve thought that was a boy’s name, yet you act strangely feminine… My name is Stryker.” He didn’t say anything else and merely took a torch off the wall and descended into the catacombs, only to hear some words behind him.  
The girl, Odessa, the unmasked one called out to him. “Let us come with you, Stryker. We too, seek the same things you seek! The top of the mountain, the summit, the peak.” He merely thought, I’ll use them to get to the top, but once I get there, no one is allowed to share in my glory! So he said in reply, “Come along, please. I would like some company on this trek of mine.”

And so they went off together, and as requested they spoke earnestly over many topics, such as battle and love. He began to open up to them, but as soon as he realized this, he closed it again in fear of what they would see him as. Nevertheless, he couldn’t deny their personal charm and he frankly enjoyed their companionship. As they spent days inside the catacombs looking for a way to escape, he began to see them as friends, more than just mere adventurers climbing the same peak.

It had been a week that they had been trapped in this dark abyss of a maze when they finally saw a light past a canyon leading to the outside. His heart rejoiced and he started to sprint to the exit, using his speed and agility to bypass all the obstacles that stood in his way, and with a massive leap, jumped the massive gap, reaching the passageway that would lead them out. He almost made it, his fingers clinging to the edge and with a grunt of exertion, heaved himself up onto the edge, panting as he did so. He stood up with a challenging smirk and beckoned them forward with a gesture of his hand.

Over the last few days, he found that Odessa was usually the more competitive one, while Richard often tended to stay back, their personality far timider. Odessa started to move across the gap, her steps gracefully dancing around the rocks and the endless drop, and with a jump, easily crossed the gap. Richard was afraid of the run though and required a bit more goading to attempt it. But once he did, he did so confidently and with precision. But when it came to the final jump, their nerves seized up and he stumbled and only made it halfway, their arms reaching out for a hold as they began to fall into the abyss below. 

His heart dropped and he dashed forward and grabbed Richard’s hand as he did so, his feet clinging onto the edge. Unconsciously, his cheeks flushed red, but he ignored that and with effort, pulled them back up to safety. After resting for a few moments, Richard spoke, looking up at the taller boy. “Thank you… Stryker. I wasn’t expecting you to come and help me so readily, even at the cost of your own wellbeing.” He shook his head and led the way outside holding his hands above his eyes, for he had grown accustomed to the dim light inside the catacombs and caverns.

He stared up into the heavens, but sighed again, for they had only made half the ascension. He sighed and called for the other two to rest while he went hunting for some food. So they took shelter in a little alcove while he went to go hunt. When he returned, he heard hushed whispers there, and he tried to ignore them, but his curiosity overwhelmed him and he had to eavesdrop. While he skinned and prepared the animal, he listened in.

“I don’t know, Odessa, but he’s sweet, more than he lets on.” He was shocked to hear a feminine voice behind the words. “I’m starting to fall for him, I think.” 

“Shush, he doesn’t care about us. He’s only an asshole, and that should be as clear as day. Your emotions are clouding your judgment.” His heart broke as he heard these words, for he had really cared for them at this moment in time. How quickly he had warmed up to them, it really was quite endearing. 

He finished preparing the food and started to cook it over an open fire. He suddenly heard behind him a voice, that condescending, hated voice. Odessa’s voice. “Quiet, he’s here.” After a moment, both of them emerged from the alcove, appearing as if nothing had happened in the previous moments. They audibly sniffed the air and he could hear their stomachs grumble in hunger.

He beckoned them over, for he had finished preparing and cooking the meal for them, and placed the meat on several wooden plates that he had taken along with him for the ascent. It was roughly cooked, but when they had tasted the food, it felt like heaven to them. He nodded quietly and ate his food in peace, enjoying their company while they did so.

When they were done eating the food, he wrapped up the rest of the meat in cloth and stored it over his pack and washed the plates in an adjacent stream to them. He scrubbed and washed at them until they were sparkling clean, well, as much of a sparkle as wood could have. After a few minutes of doing so, he dried them upon an old rag and laid them back into his pack and set up camp upon the flat alcove. He placed his tent out a few spaces away from the others, minding that they wished their own space away from his own.

How shocked was he when a masked person showed up in his tent in the dead of night. He had been on the verge of falling asleep, but their sudden intrusion had forced him awake. He watched in interest as the person carefully removed their mask, revealing the most beautiful face that he had ever seen. She had still not realized that he had awoken, and she sighed, beginning to speak.

With pauses in between, it was as if the small girl was sobbing, but her true voice was silky smooth, a strange accent caressing each word with care. “Ah, he isn’t awake. Good, now I can pretend that he is listening without it being strange. Anyhow,” The girl cleared her throat. “Stryker, as I’m sure you’re aware, my name ‘Richard’ is only an alias. It is to hide from my family, who will do anything to find me and bring me back to that place. My home, and keep me under their control.” Just as soon as she had spoken that fact, she switched the subject of the one-sided conversation and continued speaking. “It doesn’t assist me in any form that I am within the monthly period where my mind is in emotional stress. 

“I will start from the beginning so that you may understand my plight, yes? When I was a young child, much younger than I am now, I lost my father in an... accident, and while my family was engulfed in grief, my father’s family unleashed their rage on us, and growing was a difficult period for me, especially when I didn’t understand why they were so angry at us, or why my family didn’t have a father like everyone else’s. I suppose now, as I grew, I looked for a father figure…” She continued speaking in this fashion for a time, and by this time, he had deduced that she was a princess of sorts from a neighboring kingdom who had traveled here and who was accompanying Odessa to the top.

She continued to weep for a period of time and after a moment, he shifted and made his presence known. He sat down and took the now speechless girl into his arms and started to whisper comfort and words of understanding into her ears, his eyes dripping tears. Why was he crying for someone he hardly knew? Whose pain he should not have felt? Even he didn’t know, but all he knew was to comfort her and let her know that she was not alone in the darkness. Alone, she opened a long lost gift that he had hidden from the world, as he had seen she alone was worthy of it. Using his tongue, usually so adept at hurling insults, he now spoke magic words, each word soothing and wiping the tears away. Over time, her tears and sobs ceased and she just rested in his arms for a brief moment, whispering thank you repeatedly. He shook his head and smiled briefly, a brilliant smile that seemed to light up the small tent. She smiled again and released herself from his hold and stood up.

“Thank you, for everything you’ve done for me tonight. I’ll always remember this.” She smiled, but it disappeared behind the mask as she fitted it over her face again. She dipped her head and went off into the night. He sat back down thinking about her for a brief moment, mulling over his feelings of her and how he felt. He felt an incomprehensible tiredness come over him and he laid down, his eyes taking him to the dark abyss.

When he awoke the next day, he packed up and continued to converse with the two as they started to ascend to the peak once again. He noticed a disappointed tone in the masked girl’s voice as he appeared to have forgotten the conversation they had held the previous night. He ignored this and continued to speak in the same fashion as he was, but his mannerisms subtly changed as he started to pick up more than his equal share from the weaker Richard, and this change this did not go unnoticed by her, and he could feel her grow happier with each pack he picked up. It was quite heavy, but to ease somebody’s burdens was undoubtedly his hidden and greatest skill. Seeing her happy brought a smile to his face and Odessa who was neighboring the two, pondered the question, what had happened between the two?

As they scaled the mountain, the increased burden undoubtedly took their toll on him and he collapsed only three-quarters of what they were to accomplish that day of exhaustion. Sweat visibly beaded on his forehead, but after taking a short break, he pushed through the pain and continued forward. They looked at him in concern but he waved them off and continued to climb up, finally finishing the day’s allotment. He laid down the packs, his face appearing as if he had taken a trip through the netherworld; Richard however, still looked rather light of body and mind than they usually did, and they smiled from behind the mask.

They ate and rested once more and the next morn, the cycle continued, and he took up more than his fair share and once more started to climb. Now at the halfway point, he was beginning to show a state of exhaustion, but unwilling to look weak, he kept going, to persevere. But all mortal beings have their limits, and he was no different. Having almost made it to the end of the day’s portion, he tried to keep going and nevertheless completed the allotment. Laying the packs down and unkemptly setting his tent up, he immediately fell asleep, not bothering to eat. 

The next day, he picked up himself up and resumed his duties. So close to the summit was no place to be apathetic. He packed up and ate a breakfast, waiting for them. A few minutes later they came out and too, started to prepare for the day. Without a word of warning, Richard immediately picked up her entire pack and some of his, ignoring his protests. She pat his head and whispered in a quiet tone, “You’ve done so much for me, it is only fair that I repay the favor.” He shook his head, but obliged her request. 

They ascended slowly, the top of the mountain much more arduous and difficult to traverse than the lower regions. Noticing at how the girl was struggling and depending on Odessa for support, he stretched and took up the other side of her, giving his strength to her. In the next days and weeks, they did this repeatedly, interchanging the roles. During this time, a worm of emotion that he had never felt before worked itself into his heart and one night, he sat upon the edge of the cliff of which their camp sat. Usually, he would just ignore these emotions, but these didn’t seem to fade away. The close proximity of the two didn’t seem to help matters much either. He was pondering over how to rid himself of these negatively perceived emotions when he saw someone sit next to him. Her.

She whispered to him, yet refused to look at him, her eyes averted, for she had withdrawn the mask. “I needed to talk to you… about something.” Her voice was hesitant, and it was evident that she was afraid and was unsure if she should continue. “Over the last few weeks, while you and I were helping each other… I’ve realized that I may have judged you a bit early…”

He had been waiting for this conversation for a long time, although he was confused. He should be the one apologizing, he had been the insulting one. At first, he had only used them for his personal goals. But then he asked himself, what had changed? He shook his head and motioned for her to continue speaking.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and this did not go unnoticed by he, who was quite observant of his surroundings. Without that trait, he never would have made it this far, with or without their assistance. He smiled in a slightly smug manner and goaded her on. “Go on, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Her cheeks turned red and she started to speak, albeit in a stuttering manner. “I judged you early… I thought that you were nothing more than a shallow ass… But now I see that you’re so much more.” She swallowed nervously and her eyes turned to look at him. “I think- I think what I’m trying to say is, is that I think I’ve fallen for you…” She hid her face in her hands, afraid of what he might say, or rather, what he might feel as a result.

He stood up and walked a while, the girl following him tentatively, looking for a reflection, anything to prove he wasn’t walking in a dream. He found it soon enough, a shattered lake, its appearance appearing broken from the thawing and freezing over thousands of cycles. He stared at it for a moment, his reflection looking back and he pondered why, how anyone could love someone so broken, so shattered? All his life he’d been ignored and passed over. What changed? And he continued to ponder this question and when he found that he couldn’t answer, he turned to her and asked simply, “Why?”

Now, this was not to say that he was rejecting his own feelings and trying to find a way to discredit her. No, no, he was only curious, as that was what he asked in the question. He repeated himself. “Why? Why would you love such a broken and shattered person?” 

And she looked away into the fading sunset. A feathery whisper left her mouth, so quiet that the words themselves seemed to want to float away. “Because you’ve treated me like I was a special person. Like I was worthy of love, and you made me feel happy about myself. I haven’t felt that in so long. You’re different somehow and I can’t quite explain how, but in every one of your actions, you seem unwilling to hurt us and me as an extension. You’re not the kind of person to step on other people, just to make yourself feel good about yourself. You’re-” She stopped, her ears a light red, perhaps she’d said too much. She tucked her head into her shoulder, embarrassed. 

He was taken aback. Perhaps she was lying, or toying with his emotions. But he could sense no lies in her voice, and she appeared earnest in her doing so. Even so, he was afraid of the consequences of his admission. He raised a hand, but after a moment of thinking, lowered it once more. He spoke in a heavy, resigned tone. He should’ve been feeling happy and joyous at this incident, but instead he felt a longing in his heart for something. But that was just simply who he was. “I- I’ll think about what you said. I don’t know what I feel.” He walked away, both thinking and cursing himself as he did so.

She sat there for a while, silent tears dripping down her cheeks. H-how dare he just leave her without a real answer? Did he not know how much he hurt her? Well, she tried to stay angry at him, but found out she couldn’t. He was twisting her emotions without even intending to. She knelt down and started to cry, wiping her tears on the hem of her shirt. Soon, she just sat there, letting them fall, a sad and strange look in her eyes.

The next week they ascended to the peak of the mountain, and at last, one final obstacle stood in their way: a wall with a tiny edge upon the bottom to stand. They pondered on how to climb it. He saw that there was no solution other than to stand upon the edge and throw the other up onto the top, as the wall was too smooth and tall to climb, even with a second person on the shoulders of the other. He swallowed. So this is how and where my journey ends? Then so be it. Happiness for others was my life’s scene, and this one shall be my finale!

He breathed in deeply and told them his plan, which they vehemently refused to participate in. He however, wasn’t asking for permission, as he’d already made up his mind. He would do this no matter what, because he felt that in his mind, they were far more important than he was. He scooped them up, one in each hand and stood precariously upon the edge. He could hear both of them protest, hitting his arms and crying, “Put us down! Put us down!” He shook his head quietly, then sighed. Leaning back, he used his superior strength to throw them to the top and lost his balance. He slipped back and fell, disappearing from sight.

She knelt down and cried, and unbeknownst to her, angel wings grew on thier backs, for they were standing on the edge of heaven, and all who entered heaven have earned their wings, one way or another. I suppose he really did love me. She looked up and noticed her wings floating on her back. Her tear-filled orbs were now glowing in newfound determination and she leapt off without a second thought, and dove after him, seeing him once more.

She saved him, catching him in her arms a mere second before they fell into the abyss. She held him closely, and it was a pity, as he did not recognize her, for her face had become perfect and radiant, like the sun. In a quiet voice he asked two simple questions. “Who are you, angel of heaven? Why have you saved me?”

As she took him back to where Odessa was waiting for both of them, her feet shifting in worry, she spoke. “My name is… Yana, and because I love you.” She stood on the clouds and laid him down onto the clouds, when just as suddenly as before, angel wings sprouted from his back and he turned just as glorious as the two. 

He turned back to her and then looked at the ways that they had come. He smiled brilliantly, his face glowing like the stars in the night sky. And he thought, I know who to call my own. He looked back at her and started to walk into this heaven. “I love you too.” He realized now that he didn’t need that adoration of many or even to be the god in human form, because now he only needed her.


End file.
